Background requirement brings end to Texas gun show

Published 1:00 pm, Tuesday, January 7, 2014

AUSTIN — County commissioners in Central Texas have decided not to renew a contract for a monthly gun show because organizers declined to require background checks for all firearm sales.

Travis County leaders voted Tuesday not to extend a lease allowing Saxet Gun Shows to hold the event at the county-owned Exposition Center in Austin.

The Austin American-Statesman reports (http://bit.ly/1admR1t ) Saxet had been holding the show at the center since 2010. It was negotiating a contract with commissioners to extend the shows into next year. But talks stalled when the county wanted the company to require the background checks.

Federally licensed firearms sellers are already required to run criminal checks, but private sales don't come with the requirement. County officials wanted to ensure the private sales were covered, too.